Core Team
Miroslava Chávez-García
Miroslava Chávez-García is the Faculty Director of the McNair Scholars Program and a Professor of History at UCSB who has affiliated appointments with the Departments of Feminist Studies and Chicana/o Studies and Latin American and Iberian Studies. She is the author of Negotiating Conquest: Gender and Power in California, 1770s to 1880s (Tucson, 2004), States of Delinquency: Race and Science in the Making of California’s Juvenile Justice System (Berkeley, 2012), and most recently, her award-winning Migrant Longing: Letter Writing across the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands (Chapel Hill, 2018). Dr. Chávez-García served from 2016 to 2019 as Faculty Director for Graduate Diversity Initiatives, overseeing the Graduate Scholars Program, designed to retain, mentor, and matriculate first- and second-year students. She also served as a member of the UCSB Academic Senate committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. From 2013 to 2015, she served as interim Chair and Vice Chair for UCSB’s Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies. While at UC Davis, her previous place of employment, she was a member of the Chicana/Latina Research Center steering committee and chaired the Chicana/o Studies Department at UC Davis. Contact: mchavezgarcia@history.ucsb.edu
Angelica Hernandez
Angelica Hernandez is the Program Coordinator of the McNair Scholars Program at UCSB. Prior to her current position, Angelica was the Program Manager at REACH, a non-profit organization, in Santa Barbara. She worked with low-income and first generation college bound students by supporting them during their transition from high school to college by providing multi-year mentorship, and experiential trips. Before working in Santa Barbara, Angelica was a ENLACE Fellow at Northeastern Illinois University, she graduated in 2016 with her Master's in Educational Leadership with a concentration in Higher Education. Prior to getting her masters she graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in Sociology.
Graduate Student Team
Jason Fly
Jason Fly is a Graduate Mentor for the McNair Scholars Program. He is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Counseling, Clinical and School Psychology with an emphasis in Clinical Psychology. He previously achieved a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Northern Iowa, where he was a McNair Scholar himself, and a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Prior to attending UCSB, he worked in a psychoneuroendocrinology lab studying the effects of stress hormones on health outcomes, and a cross-cultural emotions lab where he developed an interest in differential expressions of empathy. He was the principal investigator of an international study comparing the U.S. and Brazil on ethno-cultural empathy and racial implicit bias. Currently, his research interests include developing clinical tools to prevent and treat stress disorders related to traumatic events, specifically using narrative strategies such as cognitive empathy. His focus is around addressing socio-cultural differences that factor in prevention and treatment of at-risk and underserved populations, especially African-Americans.Contact: jasonfly@ucsb.edu
Rubysela Rodriguez
Rubysela Rodriguez is a Graduate Mentor for the McNair Scholars Program and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, University of California, Santa Barbara. She is a recipient of both the Eugene Cota-Robles Fellowship and the Racial Justice Fellowship, which support her work in advancing social and racial equity in higher education. Her research examines the intersectionality of race and class in educational retention and attainment, with a particular focus on marginalized students. Through her work, she aims to foster inclusive environments that promote social justice within academic institutions. Before joining UCSB, Rubysela earned dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Psychology and Chicano Studies from California State University, Northridge. Her academic and mentoring experiences are deeply informed by her commitment to supporting underrepresented students in achieving their academic and professional goals. Contact: Rubysela_rodriguez@ucsb.edu
Mary Michael
Mary Michael is the Writing Specialist for the McNair Scholars Program. She is a Ph.D. candidate in the Film and Media Studies department at UCSB. She has a B.S. in Sociology/Law and Society from the University of California, Riverside, and an M.A. in Cinema and Media Studies from the University of Southern California. Her research examines smart city projects in the Middle East, with particular focus on how migrants engage with paperless and e-governance technologies in Dubai. Her fields of study include migration and labor in the Middle East, histories of media and technology, critical data studies, and bio/necropolitics. Mary is also a self-taught media practitioner who experiments with arts praxis methodologies including 3D model building, game design, and hyperlink narrative writing. She aims to use her Ph.D. to contribute to urban planning and design research, and to open a media lab in which vulnerable communities can collaborate on building software that is designed to better serve their interests. Contact: marymichael@ucsb.edu